Cornelius donkersley



'0; DONKERSLEY. Elevated-Railway Turn-Table;

Nor 225,002.

Patented Mar. 2, I880.

IJNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

CORNELIUS DONKERSLEY, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

ELEVATED-RAILWAY TURN-TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,002, dated March 2,1880. Application filed June 14, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CORNELIUS DoNKE'Rs- LEY, of New York, in the countyof New York and Stateof New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Turn-Tables for Elevated Railways, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, inwhich Figure l is a top view of my improved turntable. Fig. 2 is acrosssection of the same. Fig. 8 is a detail view, looking in thedirection of arrow 2. Fig. 4 is a detail side view of the end of theturn-table rail.

' Thisinvention relates to turn-tables adapted, mainly, for use onelevated sin gle-rail railways, and provided with hydraulic or otherpower for raising the table so that it can be turned in any desiredposition.

The invention consists, principally, in the use of a fixed catch orcatches on the turntable or its supports, in combination with a suitablepower for lifting the table out of contact with the fixed catches, sothat it may be readily turned to another line of rails, and there belocked fast, without danger of shifting; and it further consists incertain details of construction whereby this main feature of myinvention is carried out, which will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, and then pointed out in the claims.

The method I have adopted of carrying out my invention is shown in theappended drawin gs,in which Arepresents the ends of the rails of thetrack uponthe opposite sides of the turntable, and B are the columnsupon which the "said ends A are supported. The ends of the rails A onlyextend to the middle part'of the upper ends of the columns B, leavingthe other parts of the said upper ends projecting as shoulders, toreceive the ends of the turntable rail 0 and support the said rail whilethe engine or car may be passing to or from the said turn-table.

To the upper ends of the columns B are attached catches D, the uppercorners of which are beveled, and which have shallow notches formed intheir upper sides to receive and serve as seats for the ends of theturn-table rail (1.

To the base of the turn-table rail 0, and concentric with it, isattached a ring-plate, E,

to one side of which, and opposite the center of the turn-table rail(1,is attached a standard, F. The standard F is perforatedlongitudinally to adapt it to serve as a bearing for avertical shaft, G,which has a handwheel, H, attached to its upper end for convenience inoperating it.

To the lower end of the shaft G is attached a small gear-wheel, I, theteeth of which mesh into the teeth of the large stationary gear J,placed within the ring-plate E and concentric with it, and which issecurely attached to the top of the column K, that supports theturntable.

To the center of the turn-table rail 0 is attached the upper end of apivot, L, which passes through a hole in the stationary gear J andenters a socket, 7c, in the upper part of the column K. The upper partof the socket It in the column K is of the same size as the pivot L, toserve as a bearing for the said pivot, and the lower part of the saidsocket is enlarged, as shown in Fig. 2. In the surface of the socket ofthe column K, at the upper end of its enlargement, is formed a V-groove,in which is placed a ring-packing, M, which is made V-shaped in itscross-section, and is arranged with its edges resting against the pivotL. The socket of the column K is made deeper than the length of thepivot L, and with it, just below the upper end of its enlarged lowerpart, is connected the end of a tube, N, leading to a hydraulic pump,which pump is not shown in the drawings, as there is nothing new in. itsconstruction. The said pump is connected by a pipe, N, to anoil-reservoir, K, in the column K, from whence the oil is pumped intothe upper chamber, k, to raise (as well as lubricate) the pivot L of theturn-table rail 0. There should be a connection between the tube Nandpipe N, or between the socket and reservoir K, so that the liquid maybe returned to said reservoir K when the table is to be lowered.

With this construction, when the turn-table rail 0 is in line with therails A and has its ends in the notches of the catches D, and an engineor car has been run upon it to be turned,

oil or other suitable liquid from the reservoir K is forced through thetube N into the socket of the column K, which oil compresses the packingM snugly around the pivot L and forces the said pivot upward, raisingthe ends of the rail 0 out of the notches of the catches D, so that theturn-table can be turned by operating the hand-wheel H. As theturn-table completes a half-revolution the ends of the rail 0 slide upthe beveled ends of the catches D and sink into the notches of the saidcatches, locking the rail 0 in line with the rails A, so that the engineor car can be run from the said turn-table to the said rails in safety.

With this arrangement of fixed catches combined with a suitable liftingdevice to raise the table out of contact with said fixed catches thereis no possibility of the catches being accidentally unlocked, whichmovable catches are always liable to, as with my invention itisimpossible for the table to be moved until it has been lifted clear ofthe catches.

I have thus shown one method of practically embodying my invention, butdo not wish to limit myself to the exact construction described, as themain feature of my inventionto Wit, the use of fixed catches withasuitable power to lift the turn-table out of contact with said fixedcatches-may be varied in many ways without changing the essence of myinvention.

I do not wish to be understood as claiming, broadly, the use of ahydraulic or similar power for raising a turn-table, as I am aware thatthis has been. proposed before.

I am also aware that a track structure of a turn-table provided withoperating-shafts and pinions to engage a fixed gear for the purpose ofturning said turn-table is not new.

I am also aware that it has been proposed to lift the rail of aturn-table out of a fixed socket, to allow of the turning of saidturn-table; but in this case the vertical. motion of the rail wasindependent of the motion of the table.

Having thus described my invent-ion, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentl. A turn-table having a lockin g device consisting oftwo parts, the one connected with the track being fixed, and the otherforming part of or attached to the table, so as to beincapable of motionwithout it, in combination with mechanism for elevating the entireturntable and that part of the locking device attached to or formingpart of it, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with a turning spindle, L, and the mechanism forelevating the same and the track supported thereon, of the lookingdevice herein described, consisting of the fixed catches D D and therail C, said rail being constructed to interlock with thecatches and toseparate from one catch and lock with the other only by the movement ofthe spindle on which the rail turns, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

3. The combination of a pillar, K, bearing the fixed gear J, with therail G, provided with the ring-plate E, carrying the hand-wheel H andpinion I, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially asdescribed.

CORNELIUS DONKERSLEY.

Witnesses:

A. W. ALMQVIST, SIGFRID LI-NDHAGEN;

